Water-soluble gold/polyaniline core/shell nanocomposite: Synthesis and characterization

• A spontaneous redox reaction occurs as AuCl4− and aniline are brought together.
• The newly formed Au NPs are deposited to the surface of primarily formed Au NPs.
• Adsorbed aniline is polymerized at the surface of Au NPs to form a robust shell.

Two-step reaction has been developed to produce colloids of gold/polyaniline (Au/PANI) core/shell nanocomposites. A colloid of monodispersed gold nanoparticles was firstly prepared. Aniline monomer was used to form PANI shell with the aid of residual gold ions as an oxidizing agent. The in situ UV–vis spectra were studied to speculate the formation process of the nanocomposite. The obtained nanocomposites were characterized with transmission electron microscope (TEM), zeta-potential, dynamic light scattering (DLS), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer and spectrofluorometer. The synthetic procedure was detailed and the possible mechanism related to the formation of Au/PANI core/shell was proposed.

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